Barbara Weldon Obituary

Weldon, Barbara Eskilson

Barbara Eskilson Weldon, Winnetka, Illinois, passed away on June 19, 2021 at home, surrounded by her loving husband of sixty-four years and three children. She was 88 years old.

Visitation will be Tuesday, June 22, 2021 from 4pm to 7pm at Donnellan Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie, IL. A private Funeral Service will be held.

Barbara was born in Gary, Indiana to Eskil and Helen Eskilson on January 11, 1933. During her summers in high school and college she worked at the family owned Dixie Dairy Company in Gary, IN, where she became a proud member of the Teamsters Union. She attended Gary's Horace Mann High School, which is where her love of theatre began. Barbara has said that her high school drama teacher, Mary Gorell, had the greatest impact on her life. She attended Connecticut College for Women, where she was an active member of the theatre department, and then graduated from Indiana University with a dual focus on Drama and Teaching. After graduation, Barbara worked as an English and Drama teacher in Muskegon, MI.

Barbara met her future husband, Ted Weldon, Jr., on a blind date at her parent's 25th wedding anniversary party at Flossmoor Country Club in 1955, where she swept him off his feet. Barb and Ted married on August 17th, 1957 at Gary Country Club, in Gary, IN. They lived in Kankakee, Bourbonnais and Evanston, before settling permanently on Sunset Road in Winnetka in 1969.

Barbara continued to teach Drama to children as a volunteer at Lincoln School in Evanston, First Presbyterian Church of Evanston, Greeley School in Winnetka and the Winnetka Community House. She joined her friend, Lu Sunkel, in directing productions at the Winnetka Children's Fair from 1969 to 1974.

In 1974 she and Lu formed Children's Theatre of Winnetka (CTW) under the auspices of the Winnetka Community House. Barbara envisioned acting in the same light as other activities for children, such as baseball, basketball and hockey - a place where children could strive to be their best, and in doing so, entertain their parents and friends. Her vision was to teach and involve children in all aspects of a production - not just the acting, singing and dancing. She wanted the children themselves, under adult supervision, to stage manage, run the lights and sound, procure and handle props, usher, sell tickets, paint the scenery, help with makeup, and after the last performance, strike the set.

Over the next 43 years she acted as Artistic Director and directed 47 productions. Jim True-Frost, Betsy Morgan and Beck Bennett are just a few of the many alumni who have gone on to pursue a career in professional theatre. Barbara retired from CTW in 2017, the year she was recognized as Winnetka's Woman of the Year. She succeeded in fulfilling Children's Theatre of Winnetka's mission statement – "Not only to teach and involve children, but to instill a lifelong interest in, and love of, theatre."

In addition to theatre, Barbara was an avid reader, self-proclaimed "political junkie" (shout out to Rachel Maddow and the MSNBC gang) and enjoyed extensive traveling with her husband Ted. She loved throwing parties including Weldon-A-Go-Go (1968), annual block parties, 16 consecutive presidential election parties from 1960 to 2020 and many family parties and reunions. At the annual family Christmas parties, Barbara narrated and directed the extended family in annual mini-productions of A Christmas Carol - in costume.

Barbara is preceded in death by her parents Helen and Eskil Eskilson. She is survived by her husband Theodore Weldon Jr, of Winnetka, daughter Lisa (Greg) LeFevre of Woodstock, son Theodore (Haley) Weldon III of Chicago, daughter Meg of Winnetka, brother John (Margie) Eskilson of Evanston brother Tom (Ruth) Eskilson of Valparaiso, IN, and sister Jane Grushkin of Pinole, CA, grandchildren Susan, Jennifer, Aimee, Michael, Theo, Spencer and Nate, and great grandchildren Adeia, Alethea, Leif, Amarie and David.

Barbara's biggest gift to those who met her was the gift of compassion, love and kindness.

Should friends desire, memorial contributions may be made payable to the Children's Theatre of Winnetka, and mailed to: The Barbara Weldon Scholarship fund c/o The Winnetka Community House, 630 Lincoln Avenue, Winnetka, IL 60093. Infodonnellanfuneral.com or (847) 675-1990.

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